The icy water sloshed under the
door of Santa’s workshop. Adelaide lifted her felt boot, soaked with melted
snow.

Santa bustled in, pulling his beard
in all directions. “Jumping Jingle Bells! The ice caps are melting fast. The
reindeer can’t handle the knee-deep slush. The sleigh won’t slide without ice.”
He slumped in a chair that creaked mightily in protest and buried his face in
his hands.

Adelaide frowned. The whole world
depended on his deliveries in three days. She set some magic mops to work. Would
there even be a workshop next year? The elves already had to move to houses on
stilts, and just yesterday, she woke to find a polar bear snuggling at her
feet.

“I’ll think of something, Santa,”
Adelaide said. The water swirled around her toes. The shadows swam and her
reflection danced.

“Yes. I’ve got it!” She grabbed a
bullhorn. “All elves to your stations. We have an emergency order to fulfill.”

She flung a swath of blueprint
paper onto the worktable. She scribbled. She calculated. She measured and she
drew.

She thrust the newly minted
schematic to the chief engineer. “Make this happen.”

As hammering filled the workshop,
she logged onto her laptop. She typed the addresses of her far-flung friends.
She tapped her missive and hit “Send.” She drummed her fingers and waited for
the . . .

Ding.

Adelaide read the response and
smiled wide. “Santa, take a break. I’ve got this covered.”

Santa was already snoring in his
corner recliner.

Three days
later, Adelaide paced back and forth. Where were they?

She opened
the door to peer out at the sloshy, slushy mess.

And then they came.

In waddled
the eight.

“Buenas noches,” they said.

They nodded
in approval at the contraption before them, loaded with presents.

Adelaide
roused Santa from his Christmas Eve nap.

And into
the night they went. “Now, Diego! Now, Dona! Now Pablo
and Viviana! On Carlos! On Marta! On Sergio and Eliana!”

OMG, the details are amazing in this story, Sylvia! Super awesome writing! From the polar bears snuggling at her feet to the surprise penguins at the end. And the illustration is adorable! I'd love to see this one in print. I 100% love it! (And BTW, I think I still owe you a critique from our swap agreement way back in August or Sept! Feel free to rely on me.)